Standish man back on `Jeopardy’

STANDISH — A man who was a champion of the television quiz show “Jeopardy” in the 1960s recently returned to compete in a “Super Jeopardy” tournament of champions.

Burns E. Cameron, 52, a real estate broker in Standish was among 36 contestants invited to compete for a grand prize of $250,000.

He lost in the semifinals in June by just $1, but “it was a surprise and an honor” to be invited, he said. “The game is mostly fun, but there is a lot of tension.” He said the mental “combat” left him shaking and tired when the match ended.

Cameron, a New Jersey native, won $11,110 as an undefeated Jeopardy champion in 1966 and held the title as the highest paid Jeopardy winner until 1978 when the show was canceled.

The game show was revived in 1983, and because of Cameron’s substantial earnings in 1966, the ABC network invited him to compete with Jeopardy champions from 1983 to the present.

Cameron took home $5,000 for participating in the show and said it was “good practice” for a trivia buff.

“I am a bureau of useless information,” he said.